After an upgrade some time ago, my system no longer initializes
the sound system. It was posted before that this could be overcome
by removing the alsa modules manually, then running udevtrigger.
Currently, whenever I reboot, I run alsaconf until it removes the
modules, then escape and run udevtrigger. This works, but is
there a way to restore automatic initialization on boot? I'm
running Debian Sid, kernel 2.6.23. Thanks for any .


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On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 13:34:00 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
> After an upgrade some time ago, my system no longer initializes
> the sound system. It was posted before that this could be overcome
> by removing the alsa modules manually, then running udevtrigger.
> Currently, whenever I reboot, I run alsaconf until it removes the
> modules, then escape and run udevtrigger. This works, but is
> there a way to restore automatic initialization on boot? I'm
> running Debian Sid, kernel 2.6.23. Thanks for any .

Reboot the system and run these two commands (without changing anything
about ALSA):

lsmod | grep snd

ls -l /dev/snd* /dev/dsp

Post the output here and also tell us which sound card you are using
(i.e. post the relevant part of your "lspci" output).

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Florian Kulzer wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 13:34:00 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>
>> After an upgrade some time ago, my system no longer initializes
>> the sound system. It was posted before that this could be overcome
>> by removing the alsa modules manually, then running udevtrigger.
>> Currently, whenever I reboot, I run alsaconf until it removes the
>> modules, then escape and run udevtrigger. This works, but is
>> there a way to restore automatic initialization on boot? I'm
>> running Debian Sid, kernel 2.6.23. Thanks for any .
>>
>
> Reboot the system and run these two commands (without changing anything
> about ALSA):
>
> lsmod | grep snd
>
> ls -l /dev/snd* /dev/dsp
>
> Post the output here and also tell us which sound card you are using
> (i.e. post the relevant part of your "lspci" output).
>
>
My motherboard is an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe, with integrated
Realtek ALC850 codec.

Output of lsmod | grep snd is attached as file 'sound'
Output of ls -l /dev/snd* /dev/dsp is attached as file 'sndlist'

Thanks for any , as now my workaround no longer seems
to work.

Regards,
Russ

snd_rtctimer 8400 1
snd_mpu401 13848 1
snd_mpu401_uart 13440 1 snd_mpu401
snd_seq_dummy 8452 0
snd_intel8x0 40872 2
snd_seq_oss 36800 0
snd_ac97_codec 116936 1 snd_intel8x0
ac97_bus 7168 1 snd_ac97_codec
snd_seq_midi 13376 0
snd_seq_midi_event 12416 2 snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi
snd_pcm_oss 48288 1
snd_mixer_oss 21248 3 snd_pcm_oss
snd_seq 58720 7 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq_mid i_event
snd_pcm 89736 3 snd_intel8x0,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss
snd_rawmidi 30624 2 snd_mpu401_uart,snd_seq_midi
snd_seq_device 12948 5 snd_seq_dummy,snd_seq_oss,snd_seq_midi,snd_seq,snd _rawmidi
snd_timer 28680 3 snd_rtctimer,snd_seq,snd_pcm
snd_page_alloc 15376 2 snd_intel8x0,snd_pcm
snd 65720 13 snd_mpu401,snd_mpu401_uart,snd_intel8x0,snd_seq_os s,snd_ac97_codec,snd_pcm_oss,snd_mixer_oss,snd_seq ,snd_pcm,snd_rawmidi,snd_seq_device,snd_timer
soundcore 13072 4 snd

crw-rw---- 1 root audio 14, 3 2007-11-16 14:19 /dev/dsp
lrwxrwxrwx 1 root root 24 2007-11-16 14:19 /dev/sndstat -> /proc/asound/oss/sndstat

/dev/snd:
total 0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 0 2007-11-16 14:19 controlC0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 32 2007-11-16 14:19 controlC1
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 40 2007-11-16 14:19 midiC1D0
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 24 2007-11-16 14:19 pcmC0D0c
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 16 2007-11-16 14:19 pcmC0D0p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 25 2007-11-16 14:19 pcmC0D1c
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 18 2007-11-16 14:19 pcmC0D2p
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 1 2007-11-16 14:19 seq
crw-rw---- 1 root audio 116, 33 2007-11-16 14:19 timer

On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 14:39:47 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
> Florian Kulzer wrote:
>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 13:34:00 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>>
>>> After an upgrade some time ago, my system no longer initializes
>>> the sound system. It was posted before that this could be overcome
>>> by removing the alsa modules manually, then running udevtrigger.
>>> Currently, whenever I reboot, I run alsaconf until it removes the
>>> modules, then escape and run udevtrigger. This works, but is
>>> there a way to restore automatic initialization on boot? I'm
>>> running Debian Sid, kernel 2.6.23. Thanks for any .

I missed this initially: Where does the 2.6.23 kernel come from? Did you
check if the problem is also present with a normal Debian kernel?

[...]

> My motherboard is an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe, with integrated
> Realtek ALC850 codec.

I would like to see the output of

lspci | egrep -i 'audio|s(ou)?nd|media'

> Output of lsmod | grep snd is attached as file 'sound'
> Output of ls -l /dev/snd* /dev/dsp is attached as file 'sndlist'

That looks OK on first sight, assuming you indeed have an intel8x0 card.
I would now be interested to see the output of these two commands:

cat /dev/sndstat
cat /proc/asound/cards

Also, with which application(s) do you have problems? What happens if
you try the basic ALSA tools, e.g. if you run "speaker-test"?

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Florian Kulzer wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 14:39:47 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>
>> Florian Kulzer wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 13:34:00 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> After an upgrade some time ago, my system no longer initializes
>>>> the sound system. It was posted before that this could be overcome
>>>> by removing the alsa modules manually, then running udevtrigger.
>>>> Currently, whenever I reboot, I run alsaconf until it removes the
>>>> modules, then escape and run udevtrigger. This works, but is
>>>> there a way to restore automatic initialization on boot? I'm
>>>> running Debian Sid, kernel 2.6.23. Thanks for any .
>>>>
>
> I missed this initially: Where does the 2.6.23 kernel come from? Did you
> check if the problem is also present with a normal Debian kernel?
>
> [...]
>
>
>> My motherboard is an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe, with integrated
>> Realtek ALC850 codec.
>>
>
> I would like to see the output of
>
> lspci | egrep -i 'audio|s(ou)?nd|media'
>
>
>> Output of lsmod | grep snd is attached as file 'sound'
>> Output of ls -l /dev/snd* /dev/dsp is attached as file 'sndlist'
>>
>
> That looks OK on first sight, assuming you indeed have an intel8x0 card.
> I would now be interested to see the output of these two commands:
>
> cat /dev/sndstat
> cat /proc/asound/cards
>
> Also, with which application(s) do you have problems? What happens if
> you try the basic ALSA tools, e.g. if you run "speaker-test"?
>
>
The kernel was compiled from source, obtained from ftp.kernel.org.
I began with the config file in /boot from vmlinuz-2.6.21-2-amd64 , and
edited with 'make xconfig' I still had sound after installing and booting
this kernel, although I had to use alsaconf to remove the sound modules,
followed by udevtrigger to install them.

attached in order is output from your three requests above,

lspci | egrep -i 'audio|s(ou)?nd|media'
cat /dev/sndstat
cat /proc/asound/cards

Trying to run speaker-test gives a series of errors of the form:
Alsa lib pcm_dmix.c:866snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
Playback open error: -16,Device or resource busy

Thanks again for any .



00:0d.0 Multimedia audio controller: nVidia Corporation CK804 AC'97 Audio Controller (rev a2)

Sound Driver:3.8.1a-980706 (ALSA v1.0.14 emulation code)
Kernel: Linux Archimedes 2.6.23.07.10.27 #1 SMP Sat Oct 27 14:55:34 CDT 2007 x86_64
Config options: 0

Installed drivers:
Type 10: ALSA emulation

Card config:
NVidia CK804 with ALC850 at irq 22
MPU-401 UART at 0x330, irq 5

Audio devices:
0: NVidia CK804 (DUPLEX)

Synth devices: NOT ENABLED IN CONFIG

Midi devices:
1: MPU-401 UART MIDI

Timers:
7: system timer

Mixers:
0: Realtek ALC850 rev 0
1: mixer10

0 [CK804 ]: NFORCE - NVidia CK804
NVidia CK804 with ALC850 at irq 22
1 [UART ]: MPU-401 UART - MPU-401 UART
MPU-401 UART at 0x330, irq 5

On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 16:30:44 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
> Florian Kulzer wrote:
>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 14:39:47 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>>> Florian Kulzer wrote:
>>>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 13:34:00 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:

[...]

>>> My motherboard is an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe, with integrated
>>> Realtek ALC850 codec.

[...]

>> That looks OK on first sight, assuming you indeed have an intel8x0 card.

[...]

> The kernel was compiled from source, obtained from ftp.kernel.org.
> I began with the config file in /boot from vmlinuz-2.6.21-2-amd64 , and
> edited with 'make xconfig' I still had sound after installing and booting
> this kernel, although I had to use alsaconf to remove the sound modules,
> followed by udevtrigger to install them.
>
> attached in order is output from your three requests above,
>
> lspci | egrep -i 'audio|s(ou)?nd|media'
>
> 00:0d.0 Multimedia audio controller: nVidia Corporation CK804 AC'97 Audio Controller (rev a2)

AFAICT, snd_intel8x0 is indeed the correct driver for this card. If you
google for this lspci output you find a MEPIS page where they claim that
the card works without problems with this driver.

> cat /dev/sndstat
> cat /proc/asound/cards

That looks good, too: One audio device, one midi device, a timer, two
mixers. (Disclaimer: I have no experience with midi devices, but I don't
see why a midi device should interfere with your sound output.)

> Trying to run speaker-test gives a series of errors of the form:
> Alsa lib pcm_dmix.c:866snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
> Playback open error: -16,Device or resource busy

OK, so some process might be blocking the sound devices; most probably a
sound daemon. (Are you running Gnome or KDE?) Post the output of this:

lsof -w | egrep 'snd|dsp'

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Florian Kulzer wrote:
> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 16:30:44 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>
>> Florian Kulzer wrote:
>>
>>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 14:39:47 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>>>
>>>> Florian Kulzer wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 13:34:00 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
>>>>>
>
> [...]
>
>
>>>> My motherboard is an ASUS A8N32-SLI Deluxe, with integrated
>>>> Realtek ALC850 codec.
>>>>
>
> [...]
>
>
>>> That looks OK on first sight, assuming you indeed have an intel8x0 card.
>>>
>
> [...]
>
>
>> The kernel was compiled from source, obtained from ftp.kernel.org.
>> I began with the config file in /boot from vmlinuz-2.6.21-2-amd64 , and
>> edited with 'make xconfig' I still had sound after installing and booting
>> this kernel, although I had to use alsaconf to remove the sound modules,
>> followed by udevtrigger to install them.
>>
>> attached in order is output from your three requests above,
>>
>> lspci | egrep -i 'audio|s(ou)?nd|media'
>>
>> 00:0d.0 Multimedia audio controller: nVidia Corporation CK804 AC'97 Audio Controller (rev a2)
>>
>
> AFAICT, snd_intel8x0 is indeed the correct driver for this card. If you
> google for this lspci output you find a MEPIS page where they claim that
> the card works without problems with this driver.
>
>
>> cat /dev/sndstat
>> cat /proc/asound/cards
>>
>
> That looks good, too: One audio device, one midi device, a timer, two
> mixers. (Disclaimer: I have no experience with midi devices, but I don't
> see why a midi device should interfere with your sound output.)
>
>
>> Trying to run speaker-test gives a series of errors of the form:
>> Alsa lib pcm_dmix.c:866snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
>> Playback open error: -16,Device or resource busy
>>
>
> OK, so some process might be blocking the sound devices; most probably a
> sound daemon. (Are you running Gnome or KDE?) Post the output of this:
>
> lsof -w | egrep 'snd|dsp'
>
>
Yes, I am running Gnome. The of output of running
lsof -w | egrep 'snd|dsp' is
esd 3912 russ 5w CHR 14,3
6406 /dev/dsp

My user name is 'russ', and I am a member of 'audio' group.
Thanks for your continued interest in ing me solve this.


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On Sat, Nov 17, 2007 at 06:51:33 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:
> Florian Kulzer wrote:
>> On Fri, Nov 16, 2007 at 16:30:44 -0600, Russ Cook wrote:

[...]

>>> Trying to run speaker-test gives a series of errors of the form:
>>> Alsa lib pcm_dmix.c:866snd_pcm_dmix_open) unable to open slave
>>> Playback open error: -16,Device or resource busy
>>>
>>
>> OK, so some process might be blocking the sound devices; most probably a
>> sound daemon. (Are you running Gnome or KDE?) Post the output of this:
>>
>> lsof -w | egrep 'snd|dsp'
>>
>>
> Yes, I am running Gnome. The of output of running
> lsof -w | egrep 'snd|dsp' is
> esd 3912 russ 5w CHR 14,3 6406 /dev/dsp
>
> My user name is 'russ', and I am a member of 'audio' group.

As a quick test, I propose that you do this (as 'russ'):

pkill esd

This should shut down esd (Gnome's sound daemon). Check the output of
the "lsof ..." command again; it should be empty if no process accesses
the sound devices. Then you can test if your other applications can play
sound now. (Your earlier workaround of running alsaconf could also have
killed esd since it force-unloads all sound modules, which tends to kill
all processes that are accessing sound devices.)

Esd will probably run again the next time you start Gnome (logging in
via gdm, I assume). You can either try to deactivate esd in Gnome's
setup (I don't use Gnome so I don't know any details about this) or you
can try to configure your other applications to play sound via esd (how
to do that depends on which applications you use).

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